Living in the Company of Jesus

A Practical, Scripture-Based Guide to Deepening Your Journey within His Nonviolent Kingdom

Philip J. Harak, G. Simon Harak SJ

• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN:
  9781666737738
  9781666797503
• eBook ISBN:
  9781666797510
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

At this critical time of despair, divisiveness, systemic oppression, wealth disparity and poverty, global pandemic, climate crisis, and looming nuclear annihilation, readers searching for Jesus amidst these crises will (re)discover a loving, welcoming, compassionate, nonviolent God who wants us and our world healed. This book helps discern and employ those healing actions. Firmly rooted in the Ignatian spiritual practices of imaginative immersion into Jesus, Philip applies his professional teaching and learning perspectives to his late Jesuit brother's profound and inspiring scriptural meditations to provide a variety of effective, practical ways to develop a deeper, more engaging, and unifying discipleship. Readers are urged to consider the kingdom as Jesus reveals it, and to heed Pope Francis' revolutionary call to "make active nonviolence our way of life." Clergy and lay people will more deeply appreciate the essential ways in which Jesus' words and actions counter our kingdoms' ubiquitous employment of divisiveness, hatred, vengeance, and violence. Our book helps people act with greater certainty in creatively applying effective solutions to today's pressing problems, based upon Jesus' modeling of loving care and service to all people and creation.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Mary’s Immaculate Conception Presents to All Believers God’s Liberating Graces
• Chapter 2: Why Was Joseph Afraid? (Matthew 1:18–25)
• Chapter 3: Jesus Saves Peter and Us on Turbulent Waters (Matthew 14:22–33)
• Chapter 4: Jesus Faithfully Searches for All to Return to the Kingdom (Luke 15:1–11)
• Chapter 5: Sharing the Christ-Life within Us (Luke 2:1–20)
• Chapter 6: Whom Do We Hear When Jesus Calls the Twelve Disciples?
• Chapter 7: Jesus’ Nonviolent Direct Action in the Temple (Luke 19:28–49 and 21:1–4)
• Chapter 8: Why Did the Congregation Want to Kill Jesus after Hearing His First Sermon? (Luke 4:16–30)
• Chapter 9: What We Learn from the Syrophoenician Woman’s Great Faith (Matt 15:21–29)
• Chapter 10: Jesus’ Incarnation Heals Us and Empowers Us to Ministry (Mark 7:31–37)
• Chapter 11: How We Can Return to God’s Kingdom (Matt 13:31–33)
• Chapter 12: All Live Life in Its Fullness in God’s Kingdom (Matt 20:1–17)
• Chapter 13: How Friends of Jesus Grieve Dying and Death (John 11:1–44)
• Chapter 14: Who or What Provides a Christian’s True Security? (Luke 22:54–62)
• Chapter 15: Jesus’ Nonviolent Conversion of Death: Running with Open Hearts to His Empty Tomb (John 20:1–18)
• Chapter 16: How Should Christian Communities Treat Internal Dissenters? (John 20:24–30)
• Chapter 17: We Enact God-Like Love When We Forgive Enemies and Friends (John 21:1–20)
• Chapter 18: We Are One with Christ Jesus
• Chapter 19: Jesus’ Call to His Beloved Cannot Be Silenced (2 Timothy 2:8–13)
• Afterword
• Appendix A: Best Practices Guidelines for Individual, Pair, or Group Study
• Appendix B: Final Review and Application Questions
• Bibliography